Text of the 2nd Sunday of Easter

P In the name of the Father and of the T Son and of the Holy Spirit.

C Amen.

P If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

C But if we confess our sins, God, who is faithful and just, will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

P Let us then confess our sins to God our Father.

C Most merciful God, we confess that we are by nature sinful and unclean. We have sinned against You in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done and by what we have left undone. We have not loved You with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We justly deserve Your present and eternal punishment. For the sake of Your Son, Jesus Christ, have mercy on us. Forgive us, renew us, and lead us, so that we may delight in Your will and walk in Your ways to the glory of Your holy name. Amen.

P In the mercy of almighty God, Jesus Christ was given to die for us, and for His sake God forgives us all our sins. To those who believe in Jesus Christ He gives the power to become the children of God and bestows on them the Holy Spirit. May the Lord, who has begun this good work in us, bring it to completion in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.

C Amen.

KYRIE LSB 152

A In peace let us pray to the Lord.

C Lord, have mercy.

A For the peace from above and for our salvation let us pray to the Lord.

C Lord, have mercy.

A For the peace of the whole world, for the well-being of the Church of God, and for the unity of all let us pray to the Lord.

C Lord, have mercy.

A For this holy house and for all who offer here their worship and praise let us pray to the Lord.

C Lord, have mercy.

A Help, save, comfort, and defend us, gracious Lord.

C Amen.

COLLECT OF THE DAY

P Almighty God, grant that we who have celebrated the Lord’s resurrection may by Your grace confess in our life and conversation that Jesus is Lord and God; through the same Jesus Christ, Your Son, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

C Amen.

PSALM Psalm 33

¹Shout for joy in the Lord, O you righteous! Praise befits the upright.
²Give thanks to the Lord with the lyre; make melody to him with the harp of ten strings!
³Sing to him a new song; play skillfully on the strings, with loud shouts.

⁴For the word of the Lord is upright, and all his work is done in faithfulness.
⁵He loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of the steadfast love of the Lord.

⁶By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, and by the breath of his mouth all their host.
⁷He gathers the waters of the sea as a heap; he puts the deeps in storehouses.

⁸Let all the earth fear the Lord; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him!
⁹For he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm.

¹⁰The Lord brings the counsel of the nations to nothing; he frustrates the plans of the peoples.
¹¹The counsel of the Lord stands forever, the plans of his heart to all generations.
¹²Blessèd is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people whom he has chosen as his heritage!

¹³The Lord looks down from heaven; he sees all the children of man;
¹⁴from where he sits enthroned he looks out on all the inhabitants of the earth,
¹⁵he who fashions the hearts of them all and observes all their deeds.
¹⁶The king is not saved by his great army; a warrior is not delivered by his great strength.
¹⁷The war horse is a false hope for salvation, and by its great might it cannot rescue.

¹⁸Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear him, on those who hope in his steadfast love,
¹⁹that he may deliver their soul from death and keep them alive in famine.

²⁰Our soul waits for the Lord; he is our help and our shield.
²¹For our heart is glad in him, because we trust in his holy name.
²²Let your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us,  even as we hope in you.

HOLY GOSPEL

P The Holy Gospel according to St. John, the twentieth chapter.

C Glory to You, O Lord.

¹⁹On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” ²⁰When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. ²¹Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” ²²And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. ²³If you forgive the sins of anyone, they are forgiven; if you withhold forgiveness from anyone, it is withheld.”

²⁴Now Thomas, one of the Twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. ²⁵So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.”

²⁶Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” ²⁷Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.” ²⁸Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” ²⁹Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

³⁰Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; ³¹but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

P This is the Gospel of the Lord.

C Praise to You, O Christ.

471 O SONS AND DAUGHTERS OF THE KING

ref Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!

1 O sons and daughters of the King,
Whom heav’nly hosts in glory sing,
Today the grave has lost its sting!
    Alleluia!

2 That Easter morn, at break of day,
The faithful women went their way
To seek the tomb where Jesus lay.
    Alleluia!

3 An angel clad in white they see,
Who sits and speaks unto the three,
“Your Lord will go to Galilee.”
    Alleluia!

4 That night the_apostles met in fear;
Among them came their master dear
And said, “My peace be with you here.”
    Alleluia!

5 When Thomas first the tidings heard
That they had seen the risen Lord,
He doubted the disciples’ word.
    Alleluia!

6 “My piercèd side, O Thomas, see,
And look upon My hands, My feet;
Not faithless but believing be.”
    Alleluia!

7 No longer Thomas then denied;
He saw the feet, the hands, the side;
“You are my Lord and God!” he cried.
    Alleluia!

8 How blest are they who have not seen
And yet whose faith has constant been,
For they eternal life shall win.
    Alleluia!

9 On this most holy day of days
Be laud and jubilee and praise:
To God your hearts and voices raise.
    Alleluia! Refrain

Text and tune: Public domain

John 20:23

If you forgive the sins of anyone, they are forgiven; if you withhold forgiveness from anyone, it is withheld.

So that’s the first thing Jesus talks with His disciples about after He rose from the dead.

Clearly, that wasn’t the thing that was foremost on the minds of the disciples.

They were thinking about the Jews. Would the rulers of the Jews be coming for them next, now that the Leader of their little band had been taken out, would the Jews be rounding up His disciples next?

They were thinking about the Romans. The government had for years enforced some overbearing and just plain mean policies. What would happen next? What were these 11 men to do

They must have been thinking about their future. “We’ve left everything to follow you!” Some of the disciples had once told Jesus. Now they had to figure out what they were going to do for a living, and a future for themselves and their families.

And overarching all their thoughts was fear. Fear of the times, fear of the unknown, fear of their enemies, fear of failure, fear of shame.

Well, Jesus addressed that fear right off the bat, “Peace be with you.”

But then he wasted no time with all the nitty gritty specifics of what they were worried about, what dangers lay ahead, how they were going to get the money to meet their needs.

He got right to his point and his point was this: “If you forgive the sins of anyone, they are forgiven; if you withhold forgiveness from anyone, it is withheld.”

That’s the point of their future as His disciples and apostles. That’s the point of the Church as it was being founded around them and their preaching. That’s the point of the cross. Jesus was God’s answer and solution to the problem of our race’s sin. That bloody death was because of our sin and it was the salvation of us sinners.

Now the only really pressing matter for Jesus to bring up to His disciples in that locked room, was sin and forgiveness. That’s the point.

He died and rose again for just that point. Now He wants His disciples to take that forgiveness to all the world. That’s the point.

Dear Christian, you’ve got all kinds of things on your mind. What’s going on in this world? What’s next? Is this all real? Is this worth the alarm? What should I be doing today so I’m ready for whatever might come tomorrow? When can I again do the things I’m supposed to do and want to do?

Slow down for a moment and listen. The Lord is with you. And here’s what he wants you to do. Repent of your sins. Acknowledge your sinful nature, your inability to be perfect and please him. Have some sorrow for your selfish and wicked thoughts, words and actions; for what you’ve done and for what you have left undone.

Then, trust the forgiveness of your sins won for you at Jesus cross. Hear Jesus’ words, If you forgive the sins of anyone, they are forgiven; What happened here on earth on Good Friday has heavenly and eternal results. So likewise what happens to you here and now when you listen to and believe Jesus’ words of forgiveness has heavenly and eternal results. He says, your sins are forgiven. They are forgiven. Above all else, Jesus wants you to think on, remember, believe and trust that point.

Psalm 33, appointed for today, says this:

13  The Lord looks down from heaven;

he sees all the children of man;

14  from where he sits enthroned he looks out

on all the inhabitants of the earth,

When things get chaotic and feel so out of control, it makes us think God isn’t involved or able to help. Not so, says the Bible. He looks down on us children of man. He sees our works, he hears our words, he knows our attitudes.

He sees our sins and desires that we seek forgiveness.

Psalm 33 continues:

¹⁸Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear him,
on those who hope in his steadfast love,
¹⁹that he may deliver their soul from death

As Jesus came to find His disciples with words of peace and forgiveness, so He finds His people today. The ongoing apostolic mission we have and hold dear is the same: Sins are forgiven. That’s what Jesus wants, for me, for you and for all.

Psalm 33 concludes:

²⁰Our soul waits for the Lord;
he is our help and our shield.
²¹For our heart is glad in him,
because we trust in his holy name.
²²Let your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us,
even as we hope in you.

Amen.

APOSTLES’ CREED

C I believe in God, the Father Almighty,

     maker of heaven and earth.

And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord,

     who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,

     born of the virgin Mary,

     suffered under Pontius Pilate,

     was crucified, died and was buried.

     He descended into hell.

     The third day He rose again from the dead.

     He ascended into heaven

     and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty.

     From thence He will come to judge the living and the dead.

 I believe in the Holy Spirit,

     the holy Christian Church,

          the communion of saints,

     the forgiveness of sins,

     the resurrection of the body,

     and the life T everlasting. Amen.

PRAYER OF THE CHURCH

P Let us pray for the whole Church of God in Christ Jesus and for all people according to their needs.

Almighty God, You desire that we sinners confess our sins and seek your gracious forgiveness. Hear our prayers for mercy for Jesus’ sake. Strengthen our faith, drive out our worries and fears, even as we are not gathering to worship you as we should. We pray for your intervention into this world wide pestilence, that we may be set free soon.  Lord, in Your mercy,

C hear our prayer.

P Gracious God, Your Son appeared to His disciples in His resurrected flesh to ordain them and to send them out into the world, that repentance and the forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name. Continue to raise up for us faithful men to serve in the Office of the Holy Ministry, and bless their service among Your people who, with St. Thomas, confess Jesus as their Lord and God. Lord, in Your mercy,

C hear our prayer.

P Merciful God, remember those who have wandered from the household of faith. Faithful to Your promises, work all things in their lives to remind them of their need for Your unending grace and steadfast love, that they might return to the faith and rejoice in Your Son who has died and is risen for them. Lord, in Your mercy,

C hear our prayer.

P Almighty God, You appoint rulers and officials for the sake of order and peace. Bless those whom You have placed in authority over us at the federal, state and local levels. Give to them the desire to serve with integrity and honor, and to work for the benefit of all. Lord, in Your mercy,

C hear our prayer.

P Gracious God, look with mercy upon all who suffer in this vale of tears especially Paul, the Father of Dennis Schwake who is struggling with the effects of  a stroke, Mary Lantow, who was hospitalized last week, the family of Cheryl Schwake at the passing of her brother-in-law Dan, our shutins who in isolation: Marge, Bernice, Spencer, Florence, Vivian and Janiece’s father, Don; and all others whom we name in our heart.  Provide them with loving and compassionate care, and comfort them with the reminder that everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world, and that, believing that Jesus is the Christ, they have life in His name. Lord, in Your mercy,

C hear our prayer.

Lord’s Prayer

BENEDICTION LSB 166

P The Lord bless you and keep you.

The Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you.

The Lord look upon you with favor and T give you peace.

C Amen.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Divine Service, Setting One from Lutheran Service Book

Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from the ESV^® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version^®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Created by Lutheran Service Builder © 2018 Concordia Publishing House.